Local
D.C. court expands staff after increase in gay weddings
Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling triggered boom in applications
David Kero-Mentz and his new husband Ken Kero-Mentz waited two hours for their marriage license to be processed in July. (Photo courtesy of the couple)
The D.C. Superior Court announced on Friday that it has increased the staff and added two additional rooms for its Marriage Bureau to meet a sudden increase in demand for marriage licenses and courthouse weddings from same-sex couples.
Among other things, a court official said one of the additional rooms would be used to interview applicants seeking a marriage license and the other would be used to perform wedding ceremonies.
Court observers, including gay and lesbian couples applying for marriage licenses, told the Blade last week that applicants often had to wait between two and three hours in a single packed waiting room to have their applications processed. Others said couples requesting to get married at the courthouse had to wait at least two months for their ceremony to be scheduled.
“When we realized that our current staffing and space did not accommodate the recent demand for our services, we added staff and converted space to meet the need,” said Duane Delaney, the Clerk of the Superior Court.
In a statement released on Friday, Delaney said in the last two months the court saw the number of people applying for a marriage license more than double.
Court spokesperson Leah Gurowitz told the Blade that the budget sequestration imposed by Congress resulted in a hiring freeze on the federally funded D.C. courts since April 1. She said the additional staff members assigned to the Marriage Bureau have been transferred to the bureau on a temporary basis from other branches of the court.
“It is unclear if the increased workload is temporary or will be sustained,” Gurowitz said. “We will adjust staffing levels as necessary.”
The statement released by the court said the second ceremony room was scheduled to open Monday, Sept. 16, “potentially doubling the number of courthouse marriage ceremonies each day.”
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the case of U.S. v. Windsor struck down the provision of the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act that prohibited legally married same-sex couples from obtaining federal rights and benefits of marriage. Now that married same-sex couples are eligible for most of those benefits, large numbers of same-sex couples that had not married in the past are choosing to tie the knot, according to experts monitoring the situation.
Since D.C. does not have a residency requirement, many same-sex couples from other states, especially Virginia, are descending on D.C. to get married, according to local gay rights attorney Michele Zavos.
Gurowitz said prior to the Supreme Court decision, the court received an average of between 300 and 400 applications for marriage licenses each month. But since the decision was handed down on June 26, the number of couples applying for licenses jumped to 977 in July and totaled 908 in August.
Those applying for the licenses said the overwhelming majority of the additional people coming to the Superior Court’s Marriage Bureau since the increase began appear to be same-sex couples.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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